Failed VA Wind Turbine to be Torn Down in 2019

ST. CLOUD -- A failed wind turbine at the St. Cloud VA Medical Center will be torn down.

VA spokesman Barry Venable says they commissioned a study to look at whether the turbine could be repaired or destroyed. In the end, the cost of trying to fix the turbine outweighed its potential energy savings. Either way, Venable says it has been a disappointing project...

You can't describe it any other way, other than a $2.2-million loss is probably what it will net out to. I say loss in terms of this a was a pilot project that didn't work out.

The turbine was built in 2011 and never produced any energy for the VA. The agency terminated the contract for default in 2014 after failed attempts to get it through the commissioning process. In 2016 a settlement was reached which gave the government back a portion of the financial investment.

The study, which was completed in May determined the turbine should be brought down and destroyed. Venable says that will happen sometime in 2019.